Teach for America Seeks Help Promoting Itself on Capitol Hill

July 28, 2015

Teach for America (TFA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1991 by Princeton graduate and noneducator, Wendy Kopp. TFA was granted nonprofit status in June 1993. According to its 2013 990, TFA’s end-of-year total assets were $494 million, with $73.5 million of its 2013 revenue designated as “government grants” and $31.6 million of its 2013 revenue earmarked as “service fees revenue.”

Interestingly, TFA’s 2013 990 also includes $4.7 million tagged as “bad debt expense” as part of its total functional expenses.

TFA began as a Peace Corps-like temp agency that sends college graduates outside of the field of teaching into classrooms for usually two years. However, by 2001, TFA had established a second goal: To move former TFA corps members into positions of influence in education, business, and politics in order to solidify and expand TFA’s influence over public education.

Louisiana is an excellent case of TFA in action. The current state superintendent, John White, was in TFA in a New Jersey classroom teaching English for a couple of years. He eventually became TFA executive director of the Chicago area; did a stint as an assistant superintendent in New York under Joel Klein, and then moved on to cosmetically become superintendent of the New Orleans Recovery School District (RSD) before being politically placed into the position of Louisiana state superintendent.

(In this May 2011 nola.com article reporter Andrew Vanacore writes that three days after becoming RSD superintendent, White– who had zero school administration experience– was already being considered for state superintendent.)

In January 2012, with the help of Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and former Chiefs for Change leader, Jeb Bush, White did indeed become Louisiana state superintendent. Moreover, in March 2013, White took over as leader of Chiefs for Change so that Jeb! could run for president.

One of White’s key aims is to expand the TFA presence in Louisiana, and especially in RSD. To this end, he and his corporate-reform-backing state board majority– one of whom (Kira Orange-Jones) is also the current TFA executive director of Louisiana– have approved TFA contracts that pay TFA as much as $9000 per TFA recruit.

TFA “service fees revenue.”

TFA really needs those temp fees. After all, it takes almost a million dollars a year to just pay Kopp, Kramer and Beard for their combined 90 hrs/wk ($900,737), and they are not the only TFA board members pulling a salary. Eight others work 40 or 41 hrs/wk and have salaries ranging from $190,638 to $282,759.

But TFA has other needs, as well. Consider, for instance, the need for TFA to establish its presence on Capitol Hill. Now, according to its 2013 tax form, TFA only spent $595,870 on lobbying that year. However, if TFA pays interns to gain experience on Capitol Hill, it isn’t really lobbying– it’s just putting talented TFA alumni to work:

The Capitol Hill Fellows Program is a year-long program that places a group of Teach For America alumni in full-time, paid congressional staff positions on Capitol Hill. These positions offer Fellows incredible insights into the legislative process and an opportunity to gain experience in policy and politics at the national level.

Overview

The Capitol Hill Fellowship provides:

One-year placement with a member of the House or Senate or a congressional committee.

Monthly professional development sessions and mentorship opportunities to enhance the skills necessary for alumni to grow as policy leaders.

Exceptional networking opportunities.

A stipend of $60,000; paid over 12 months; Fellows also may coordinate one work trip to a member’s home district or state.

The Fellows do not lobby on behalf of Teach For America or work on issues related to Teach For America during this Fellowship, but instead work on issues assigned by a member of Congress or congressional committee in Washington, D.C. Each cohort reflects the diversity of the country, with Fellows from many states and both political parties.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The Capitol Hill Fellowship consists of four major components: legislative experience, professional development, mentorship, and networking opportunities:

Legislative Experience. Fellows gain incredible insights into the legislative process, the opportunity to gain experience in national policy and politics, and a chance to contribute important voices and perspectives to policy debates in Washington, D.C.

Professional Development. Fellows attend monthly professional development sessions to enhance the skills necessary for alumni to grow as policy leaders. Sessions are conducted by policy experts and cover an array of topics, ranging from the federal budget to student loan policy.

Mentorship. Fellows are matched with a Teach For America alumni mentor on Capitol Hill.

Networking Opportunities. Fellows will build relationships with members of Congress and congressional staff.

FELLOWSHIP TERM

In summer 2015, approximately fifteen Capitol Hill Fellows will begin work in Washington, D.C. Fellows will work full-time for one year in a House or Senate office or serve on the staff of a congressional committee. Fellows are provided with a $60,000 annual stipend, which is a very competitive salary for Capitol Hill staff.

Support the legislative process by preparing background reports, organizing hearings, arranging for expert testimony, and serving as policy liaisons between Congress and federal agencies.

Respond to constituent questions, handle administration, provide Capitol tours for constituents, and promote the agenda of their m embers.

Please note that Teach For America does not provide housing, health insurance, or other employee benefits for Fellows. Housing in Washington, D.C. and other benefits are the responsibility of the Fellow. Fellows are not considered employees of Teach For America.

So. TFA isn’t aiming to influence the legislative process by paying interns to become an interwoven part of life on the Hill?

Right.

In fact, TFA has an established presence on the Hill, even if it must recruit someone outside of its own Capitol Hill-stationed TFA alumni. On its website under “careers,” TFA notes that it is looking for “seasoned professionals” to fill certain positions, one of which is Director, Government Affairs (Washington, DC):

Requisition:

Director, Government Affairs (Washington, DC)

Job Description:

The Role
The Government Affairs (GA) team seeks a Director of Government Affairs. The primary responsibility of the GA team is to build relationships within the federal government to influence policies at the federal level that support Teach For America’s work and vision. The Director on this team will work with the Vice President, in coordination with another director, a manager and an assistant, and serve as an advocate for TFA’s policy positions on the Hill and with the Administration.The Team
The Public Partnerships team works to build relationships within the federal government to further Teach For America’s impact, build relationships with outside groups to help ensure they have an accurate understanding of what we do. As part of the Public Partnerships team, the Government Affairs team is specifically designed to build and maintain relationships with members of the federal government, both in the legislative and administrative branches. Our goal is to encourage policies conducive to our work and secure federal funding for Teach For America.

Qualifications:

Responsibilities
Overall responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Developing and cultivating excellent relationships with Congressional staff, particularly with those Members who represent the regions where we work and who are on committees that handle education issues;

Coordinating with internal Teach For America teams, such as communications, policy, development, and regional staff, to articulate Government Affairs goals and coordinate other teams’ support of these goals;

Preparing, including researching and drafting, briefing materials for meetings with Congressional staff and Members of Congress;

Participating in meetings with Congressional staff and Members of Congress alone, with TFA staff, and with other partners

Drafting and disseminating regular and targeted updates on Teach For America to Congressional staff in those regions that we serve;

Writing and editing letters, talking points, and other communication for Members of Congress and Administration officials;

Providing general administrative support as needed.

Requirements

Prior Experience

At least 7 years of work experience, with at least three years experience on Capitol Hill

Skills

Familiarity with education policy issues

Exceptional oral and written communication skills

Excellent research and writing skills a must, including legislative research

Strong interpersonal, analytical, and organizational skills

Strategic thinker and self-starter

Ability to work efficiently and with accuracy in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment and juggle multiple projects and priorities at once

Work Demands

Limited travel 1-2 times a year for team conferences

Apply Now
To be considered for this role, you must submit an online application. Please scroll down to the bottom of this page to find the link to the online application.

Benefits and Salary
Salary for this position is competitive and depends on prior experience. In addition, a comprehensive benefits package is included.

Anti-Discrimination Policy and Commitment to Diversity
Teach For America seeks individuals of all ethnic and racial backgrounds to apply for this position. We are committed to maximizing the diversity of our organization, as we want to engage all those who can contribute to this effort.

Of course TFA wants to promote itself on the Hill, which entails promoting annual testing and school takeover– tools used by TFA to justify its expensive, temp-turnstile, foot-in-the-door in school districts nationwide. This TFA did in July 2015 in supporting the Murphy amendment to the Senate ESEA rewrite. The Murphy amendment aimed to retain some of that No Child Left Behind (NCLB) federal control over what constitutes a school “in need of intervention” by mandating states to designate the bottom five percent of schools as failures and in essence, set up state-run districts formed of such schools. (By the way, the Murphy amendment did not pass.)

In the past, TFA has had one of its own alumni fill the director of government affairs position. TFA Executive Director of St. Louis, Brittany Packnett, started in TFA with two years in the classroom in DC; became a “school operations manager” for five months, then moved on to legislative assistant for 13 months before becoming TFA’s director of government affairs for 27 months.

Packnett did not have the three years experience on the Hill that TFA is now requiring. Moreover, when it comes to sticking recent college graduates in front of children, TFA has never asked for three years of experience.

Three years of teaching experience is more classroom time than TFA alumi like White and Packnett chalked up before continuing in their (real) TFA-induced power careers.

It seems that talent alone might not be enough for what really matters to TFA– promoting itself.

Like this:

Related

When one looks at TFA, one has to look at “LEE”, or Leadership for Educational Equality. That’s TFA’s fast growing new ‘teacher recruit to elected official’ transformation center. Their site touts ‘educational equity’ and ending ‘injustice’, yet they never define their own terms. Make no mistake, LEE is about getting TFA people into places of influence in order to drive Ed policy.
Site: https://educationalequity.org/

Fun Fact: The NC Governor’s Education aide, Eric Guckian, is a TFA alum and his wife still works there. Just a week or two ago, Guckian up and abruptly left to go head up LEE as a VP.

Oh and Brittney Packnett?
She’s far more than just a TFA higher up. She’s been actively involved in orchestrating Black Lives Matter protests alongside professional agitator, Deray McKesson. In fact, multiple TFA employees have been involved in these protests on different levels nationwide.

The arguably scary thing about Packnett is that she was appointed to President Obama’s Taskforce on 21st Century Policing. I ask you, what is a TFA employee doing on a presidential policing taskforce?? For more TFA/Protest info see: http://wp.me/p14vwx-3wA

It depends upon their interests, professional experience and ability. Are you making the argument that Packnett is not qualified for the Obama post? It wouldn’t surprise me, but just curious why or if you are making this claim. Also, There are a lot of young adults in TFA. It’s a job though and it seems natural that some of those young people would be engaged in organizing against injustice via Black Lives Matter and other means in their personal lives. I don’t see the problem with that. What are you implying with this statement?

I also don’t understand the objection to her work with Black Lives Matter. Are you implying that tax dollars are illegally being used to bail out protesters? If not, I chalk her involvement with BLM as a plus in her favor.

Thanks Mercedes for staying up with this. I’m old-er … Still teaching in public schools and have found your research so enlightening. I too am from New Orleans. I lived there from 1969 to 2001 and then I returned to CA my home state to teach in the public schools. My son and family and many friends still live in New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina, 2005, for me, as with you, was a wake-up call about systemic racism in America and in education. Also, I too began to see the systemic dismantling of ESEA and the devastation NCLB has had on education since 2002 the year I returned to public schools here in CA.
My 30 plus years in N.O. and working in and with public schools; where I started in a TFA like program called the National Teacher Corps – peace corps like- it has been interesting to see how TFA has grown. We in the National Teacher Corps, a “War on Poverty” Peace Corps like program, were part of consortium that included Xavier University of N.O. and ironically, Prairie View A&M., from where the Sandra Bland story is emerging. The part of Alabama where I worked was similar to Waller County in TX., – in racial attitude – still is!
Now, thanks to your magnificent research and writing, that exposes these privatized operations such as TFA, we are learning how the former Bush Administration, the Obama Administration with A. Duncan, and I fear the future Jeb Bush Administration has destroyed and is destroying our nation’s democratic legacy with public education. They are doing so in the name of profit and the dominant cultural norms of business thinking not educator thinking.
It’s ironic and troubling to see how public education has been diminished by the very same ESEA funding mechanisms I started my career with in the Black Belt Region of Alabama, near Selma in the 60s. Now, having moved in one lifetime career, full circle, from Alabama to Louisiana and back to California I see your research and writing as critical. Keep up your wonderful work, Mercedes, I read ALL your posts. Thanks, Monty J. Thornburg, Ph.D., Educational Leadership, UNO.

Pardon my French, but TFA is a bunch of hoodwinks and scumbags in it for themselves. They don’t give a rat’s rear about education or children, they only care about policies that keen themselves entrenched in the monies. Kipp’s charters benefit from a revolving door of cheap scab “teachers” who have no choice where they are sent, what cities, what schools, who must accept their “mission” often in charters with proposed 12 hour days, weekends, etc. – now don’t get me wrong, those scabs are often set up with inexpensive housing, and on the back end are donned with bogus weekend masters degrees and stipends from the colleges from which they came (like Princeton gives them $5000 to $10,000 cuz they’re such great kids doing such great work) and TFA itself pays off (some of) their college loans, if they have them. Why, in Newark, NJ right now, a “Teachers’ Village” is being built on Broad St., to house them cheaply, and also house 3 charge schools where they will teach. Meanwhile, the bashing of certified, qualified, experienced (even novice teachers have spent 2 semesters in the classroom all day long, for FREE, while attending college and likely working part time) and we are supposed to roll out the red carpet for TFA, while it bashes REAL teachers and calls them the bottom of the barrel. I would the the supply of these scumbag recruits would eventually dwindle down to nothing, were it not for the already superior attitudes of the recruits.

Ms. Schneider, I’ve been searching the internet for information on “project based learning” and find only complimentary articles. Surely some people must see something wrong with the program. Have you written anything on it and what is your opinion? Jim Falk, Fallon, NV

Here’s a long post that ties to the “Los Angeles Director for TFA’s Leadership for Educational Excellences that I left on the Diane Ravitch blog:

TFA does have a semi-secret, non-transparent arm that seeks to place TEACH FOR AMERICA alumni in positions of power, getting them elected or appointed to influential positions to promote privatization of schools and the expansion of charter schools… while taking great pains not not to violate the rules governing its non-profit status… which bar it from promoting privatization.

It is called the “Leadership For Educational Equity.” or LEE

For more on TEACH FOR AMERICA’s “Leadership For Educational Equity,” (LEE) and its lack of cooperation to journalists who want to know its workings, read this piece from RETHINKING SCHOOLS’ writer Barbara Miner:

———
BARBARA MINER: “Leadership for Educational Equity, meanwhile, has been less than cooperative in providing IRS documents that, by law, are to be made publicly available within 30 days of a request. In mid-January, after more than two months of LEE’s refusal to provide these documents, Rethinking Schools filed a formal complaint against LEE with the IRS; as of press-time in mid-March, LEE had still not responded.

” … ”

“St. Louis provided a window on many of the complexities of TEACH FOR AMERICA at the local level, but didn’t answer the question of TFA’s national role. So I interviewed others across the country, and also Googled, phoned, and emailed, acquiring reams of studies, reports, and articles on TEACH FOR AMERICA… ”

and on it goes… it’s long, but well worth the read.
——-

On the subject of the mysterious LEE, here’s a blast from the (recent) past:

FIRST, SOME BACKGROUND —

At the invitation of the L.A. Times, Dr. Ravitch wrote a piece about what LAUSD Board Members should look for during its search for a new Superintendent:

Since Dr. Ravitch’s suggestions had an implied criticism of LAUSD charter schools, the California Charter School’s Associaion (CCSA) “struck back” with its own op-ed… one that totally distorted what Dr. Ravitch said, put words in her mouth, etc.:

and a former (current?) lawyer with O’Melveny & Myers LLP law firm in the posh city of Newport Beach. O’Melveny & Myers LLP and its lawyers have deep ties to, and does business with the privatization and charter school industry… its members sit on charter school boards… etc.

—————–
“Dan Nieman is the Managing Director of Field Engagement at LEE. Dan is the liaison between Teach For America and (TFA’s) ‘Leadership For Educational Equity,’ managing the partnership and ensuring that our members are on track to succeed in the fields of politics, policy, and advocacy.”
———–

Both of those jobs held by that family’s household pay somewhere in the range of $150,000 – 250,000 each, or $300,000 – 500,000 TOTAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME from the privatization / corporate reform industry.

Chew on that for a while, as both Sarah and Dan are in their early 30’s.

It gets even better. Sarah Angel’s husband Dan Nieman, is also simultaneously on the Board of Directors for … WAIT FOR IT… the national Charter Management Organization “CITIZENS OF THE WORLD Charter Schools” chain:

“DAN NIEMAN — Mr. Nieman currently serves as Managing Director of the Political Leadership Initiative for ‘Teach For America,’ where he is responsible for managing relationships with a variety of partnerships to support Teach for America alumni in their pursuits of elected office.

“Mr. Nieman also coordinates Teach for America’s School Board Fellows Program and Emerging Political Leaders Fellowship for corps member alumni.”
—————————–

“Citizens of the World Charter School” rings a bell with me for a couple of reasons.

First, its New York City affiliate is run by… WAIT FOR IT… Eric Grannis, the husband of SUCCESS ACADEMY charter chains CEO Eva Moskowitz”:

Secondly, in multiple locations both in Los Angeles and in New York City, “Citizens of the World Charter School” is without a doubt, the worst actor in the whole divisive phenomenon of charter school co-location—where a charter school “invades” a pre-existing public school’s campus, causing havoc and community upheaval whenever one its schools co-locates there.

Activist Robert Skeels covered CITIZENS OF THE WORLD’s invasion of Micheltorena Elementary in the Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles:

To blunt the bad P.R. that Nieman’s CMO has generated, and to promote co-location as a wonderful opportunity for all, Loyola Marymount University,( just south of Los Angeles), hosted a seminar. This pro-charter seminar was jointly run by the charter friendly LAUSD official Jose Cole-Guttierez and…

SARAH ANGEL: “I want to to thank Jose for continuing to be a partner. We are texting and on the phone multiple times-a-week, and meeting face-to-face practically weekly now, and I think… ummm… that’s a testament to the strength of this partnership, and room for growth.”
—————–

Now why, you may ask, is Dan Nieman, Ms. Angel’s husband, being on the Board of Directors of the CITIZENS OF THE WORLD Charter Chain significant?

First off, because his wife Sarah Angel is the California Charter Schools Association’s point person in protecting and expanding charter schools in Los Angeles, especially in the divisive and controversial context of co-locations. (SEE VIDEO)

When it comes to the LAUSD charter school chains which Ms. Angel is paid to promote and help expand—including her husband’s CITIZENS OF THE WORLD chain—keep this in mind:

Those schools hire a significant amount of its TEACH FOR AMERICA teachers to staff its schools—in some cases 100% of the faculty being TEACH FOR AMERICA Corps Member teachers—with those Corps Member teachers belonging to an organization, TEACH FOR AMERICA, that Ms. Angel’s husband also promotes and of which he is part.

So in essence… the more privately-managed charter schools that Ms. Angel can help add to LAUSD, the more her husband’s TEACH FOR AMERICA organization will likewise benefit and expand, and the more that she and her husband will also financially benefit… making the supposed benefit that charters offer to poor kids seeking charters (as Ms. Angel claims in her anti-Ravitch op-ed)… making all that at best, a secondary concern for Ms. Angel and her husband, Mr. Nieman… if that.

This doesn’t seem right. Isn’t there a conflict of interest here somewhere? If not with Mr. Angel and Mr. Nieman, then with Jose Cole-Gutterez, or with new LAUSD Board Member (and former PUC Charter CEO) Ref Rodriguez?

Just askin’…

Also, keep in mind that both of the six-figure salaries paid to the Angel-Nieman household come from money that originates in part from taxpayers — money that is funneled into TEACH FOR AMERICA, California Charter Schools Association, and CITIZENS OF THE WORLD Charter Schools ultimately comes from California taxpayers and citizens.

These two are being well-paid to execute a slow, stealth privatization of schools and to eliminate the traditional public schools that have been been a part of the United States and its democracy for centuries.… whether those same taxpayers and citizens want their schools privatized or not.

That ain’t right.

(A shout-out to on of my BFF’s Julie Tran for her contributions to this piece)

people seem to be scared that TFA is actually making a real impact on education policy! GO TFA!!! real change comes from policy, glad they have evolved to fighting the root causes of education inequity and realize they need to be the ones setting the policy agenda.